Missing Bokaro teen calls home

A 15-year-old boy, who had gone missing from Bokaro city on Wednesday, was traced in Bengal's Naihati on Thursday after he called up his parents from the station.

Bibartan Joardar, fondly known as Angel, made the call from a phone booth around 5.45pm and apologised for his behaviour and said he wanted to come back home as he "missed everybody".

The teen, a St Xavier's School student, had gone missing on Wednesday afternoon after being reproached by his teacher and mother for not being able to cope with study pressure.

Bibartan's father, Bokaro steel plant senior AGM Jayanta Joardar and mother Aparna rushed to Naihati on Thursday evening after receiving the call. Before leaving they, however, called up the police, who in turn got in touch with railways officials at Naihati, including the station master, and asked them to keep an eye on the boy till his parents arrived.

Family sources said after reaching Bokaro station Bibartan, who had no money on him, boarded the first Bengal bound train and managed to reach Naihati on Thursday morning.

He stayed at the station till noon before starting to feel hungry and homesick. He later used a local telephone booth on the station premises to call up his parents and confessed to having fled home as he been highly "dejected".

In-charge of Sector IV police station, where an FIR was lodged on Wednesday, Surendra Singh later told The Telegraph that after his return the boy had to be brought straight to the police station so that he could be questioned by them.

"It has been confirmed that Bibartan took a train from Bokaro and reached Bengal on his own. We will be able to throw more light on the incident only after he returns," Singh said.